Metacognitive Section
Patience. Expect the unexpected. Expect the expected. These are the things that I incessantly ran through my mind while reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, reminding myself that anything could happen. Upon choosing this piece of literature upon recommendation, I was slightly skeptical about whether or not to follow through with reading it. Because of some of the comments made about its challenging complexity, I'd initially began convincing myself that I should choose a new book. Even upon reading the first page, I was confused, yet I was able to transcend beyond my own doubt and skepticism, and I continued. As so, confusion built upon itself, yet I endured, and by the second chapter, I felt a sudden urge to push through, and the further I read, the more interested I became. A small but largely impactful game of Tug-O-War began to play in my head, one side pulling me toward choosing a different book, and the other reeling me in for continuation. I chose continuation, and I must say that expectations and doubts were transcended on the unique development of the storyline. A thousand Splendid Suns is told in 4 large parts, each with a varying amount of chapters. Each large part is told from the viewpoint of 2 different characters. We are first introduced to Miriam who, at the time is the 5-year old main character, born to a condemned young woman, Nana. The two live in a place called Herat, in a small cottage built by her father, Jalil who is rich beyond her imagining. The “home” lies in the middle of nowhere, far beyond the reach of any other city, or home> this isolation, so we come to discover, is an important element in the advancement of the life of Mariam. The second character, introduced on page 96 of the novel, is named Laila, and her story begins at 9 years of age, whereas Miriam has turned 19 toward the end of her chapter. Because of her city development, Laila’s problems differ from Miriam’s. One of these differences, which one is able to note from the beginning, has to do with the years of isolation that Mariam endured, as opposed to the many years of friendships that Laila had with others from school, but mainly her best friend Tariq. Mariam only grew up with her mother, therefore there was no one her age that she could relate to, or talk to about her problems, so there was much bottled up inside of her. Laila had some things that she chose not to tell others, but she possessed the outlets needed to be able to vent her emotions. This may have been a contributing factor to the seeming contrast presented when they meet by happenstance a few years later. Harami: (Definition) This is one of the first words of the Afghan language used in the novel. We find that the word is used against Mariam as criticism for something she'd done wrong. The word is one of Mariam’s main childhood memories. She remembers it first where she'd knocked one of Nana’s favorite china’s down, and it shattered, scattering across the floor (Hosseini 5). That was the first time she'd heard it, not yet having the comprehensive skills to discern its meaning, yet she knew that it meant nothing good because of the glare that Nana had given her. As one may be able to tell with the prior passage, Mariam’s life begins with childhood memories that most would rather not remember, and she keeps it all inside until she gains a coser enough relationship with Laila in later years. This forebodes Mariam’s spirit of endurance and long-suffering. The memory is also important in that she was able to use it to motivate her, and promote her to the place that she needed to be to line her life to the best of her ability; to the point where she could influence others. After the first page the novel becomes an emotional rollercoaster. At times it would anger you to the point of wanting to punch a brick wall, or it could sadden you to the point of tears for minutes at a time. One point of enragement for me was when Rashid (Mariam’s husband) began treating her inhumanely because she was barren, and therefore could not provide him a hier. We are informed his recent wife had died of cancer, and his only son was drowned at only 5 years of age, so she knows that he's in pain and she does everything she can to please him, even if this includes taking kicks, punches, and full-blown beatings from him. A vivid excerpt that caused a mix of emotions lies where Mariam cooks a meal for him, and instead of saying thank you , he spits the food from his mouth, and throws the plate, He tells Mariam to stand where she is, and he goes outside. At this point Mariam fears whatever awaits her in the next moment, yet she stood and waited. Rashid then walked back into the house with a handful of rocks, and shoved them in her mouth and told her to chew. At first she was reluctant, but she grabbed her jaw, and made her chew. She cried, winced with the pain, pleaded for him to stop, promised that she'd do better, but he did it anyway. In the end, she endured all of the pain and blood, and broken teeth, but it made her stronger (Hosseini 94).